What a true definition of Sunday-Funday I had this past weekend as myself, Reggie and our friend Curran from KingsRuleTogether travelled up to Newark to attend Blogger Janae Raquel's Teas and Tangles Brunch! The wonderful Carol's Daughter crew sponsored the event, and Reggie and Curran were panelists in a discussion about natural hair, relationships, and fashion. I was like a proud mama! hhaha!! I wish I took more photos...but scroll through the ones that I did get! The below photo was taken by an awesome photographer, @joe_chea. Check out his new photo project, Naturally M.I.N.E on IG.

Guess who's speaking on a panel, giving the males perspective on women who wear their natural hair? Why... my supportive fiance @therealreggieb of course! Come hang with us on Oct. 19 at Suite 53 in downtown Newark, N.J. for some good eats and even better discussion! Tickets are still on sale!

A few days ago I was tagged (for the first time!) by one of my local Philadelphia blogging Curlfriends, Marisa of Organixlocs to participate in a little confessional concerning natural hair.
According to Marisa, "To keep the cycle going all I have to do is confess 10 things I do, or have
done, to my natural kinks that are against the ‘rules’ or considered taboo in
the natural hair community and tag 5 bloggers."

So lets get this party started, because I have a ton of things to confess that will hopefully help one or two of my readers in their natural hair journey!

1. I STILL have yet to do the "Big Chop." Yes folks... shield your eyes and clutch those pearls... I could very well still have a few relaxed ends that I'm holding onto.... just kidding. I definitely am fully natural now, but even when I was well into my journey...I'm talking 2 years in, I still refused to cut off my relaxed ends because of this sick attachment I had to my length (which wasn't even that long, in all honesty). I never wore my hair in its natural curl pattern, so it never really mattered. Now I know how important it is to SNIP SNIP SNIP! or you'll get hit with the Fairy Knot Fairy.

2. I still NEVER wear my hair in its natural curl pattern. Check out my latest article on Klassy-Kinks, where I discuss my reasons why. :)

3. I don't let shampoo directly touch my scalp...EVER, and even the shampoo that I wash my actual curls with, is diluted with H20. Why? I have yet to find a cleanser of any sort that works with my body chemistry. For yearssss I have had dandruff issues, irritated scalp problems, etc. Now, I'm sure most of this was due to getting relaxers, however the issues continued far after I stopped chemically treating my hair. One day I read somewhere online about the harshness of everyday shampoos, and soon after I devised my Honey at-home scalp treatment. Its still a bumpy road at times, but my scalp overall is thriving!

4. Scarf-Barf. I often fall asleep on the couch without wrapping my hair up in silky smoothness. Yeah, I get a good night sleep, but I wake up in the morning with dry crunchy hair that hates me.

5. I daydream about doing other people's hair in my mind. I don't know if this is a curl confession, but I'm confessing that when I see a young girl on the street or anywhere... and their poor tresses are already so damaged, I just can't help but to visualize myself doing their hair. ...treating it, sectioning it, washing it gently, detangling it by hand... showing them that their hair is beautiful if they know how to properly care for it.

6. I cant throw away products. I have so many hair products that I've purchased or received via Curlbox and there all stacked up in my room in Walmart bins.

7. Sometimes I get angry when I cant work a knot out, and instead of clipping I just pull it out in frustration. I regret it afterwards. lol.

8. I go to a Caucasian Hair Stylist. It is definitely taboo in the natural hair world to go to a stylist that is not black... but lemme tell you... My Stylist (who is a man too!) can hot comb and press the mess out of my hair, and it always, and I mean ALWAYS goes back to the original coil. I go to him to get my curls straightened out once per year for the Christmas holiday, however he can do a lot more with kinky hair beyond that. Love ya Frank!!

9. Sometimes I leave deep conditioner on my hair for days... I even go to work with it in my hair (in a top puff style)

10. My Fiance keeps my kitchen clean! I use to have my dad do it, but now Reg has taken over. Never ever does he "shape me up" ... just trims a little off so that the back of my hair doesn't look like an overgrown tropical garden on "Man Vs. Wild".

About a week ago I received a text from a -very reliably source- containing some pretty disturbing news in it....Now, if you are following Amani's cat journey to better health (just click on the overhead link, "Amani") you know that she follows a strict diet of Blue Buffalo food that is suppose to be completely Grain Free. The food, FREEDOM by Blue Buffalo not only claims to be Grain-Free, it also claims to be free of Glutens and artificial preservatives. Over the course of Amani's life she has ONLY eaten food by the Blue Buffalo brand, and I, as her overly devoted cat mother have trusted this company for many years as the leading source of proper nutrition for my feline friends.

Either way, I sadly post the following letter...This is not the original one I received, but one updated today. [from PetFoodHonesty.com]

UPDATE: May 12, 2014

Statement of PurinaLast week Purina filed a lawsuit detailing independent test results
that show that Blue Buffalo is not being honest about the ingredients in
many of their best-selling pet foods.

We also posted a website, www.petfoodhonesty.com, so that the public can learn more about the issues in the case.

In light of public threats from Blue Buffalo to sue Purina (and even individuals at our company) for defamation, we
have amended our complaint to ask the Missouri federal court to review
our website and our public statements, and rule – as a matter of law –
that they are not defamatory.

We are confident in the test
results, which show that Blue Buffalo products contain by-products, corn
and grain – exactly the opposite of what Blue Buffalo is telling
consumers.

Blue, a billion-dollar company that spent more than $50
million in advertising in 2013 attacking “big name manufacturers,”
simply doesn’t like that the truth is getting out. We believe consumers
deserve honesty, and we are not alone. Our lawsuit follows two separate
decisions of the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of
Better Business Bureaus recommending Blue Buffalo change advertising it
found to be misleading and disparaging against competitors.

At
Purina, we believe that honesty is the most important ingredient in the
relationship between pet owners and pet food manufacturers. That is why
we have filed this action, and that is why we believe the truth will
prevail.

Now, whether you believe these allegations to be true or not, I know for sure, if you are a true lover of your pet, and animals alike, you will do some careful research into the topic. I personally have chosen to suspend feeding Amani and foods from Blue Buffalo until the Purina lawsuit is completed. Therefore I am off on the next quest to find a healthier alternative to the Blue Brand... If anyone has any favorite natural cat foods that they stand by, please comment below. Also, please keep in mind that Amani only likes Seafoods. She refused to touch chicken for some reason. :)

Yesterday I turned the BIG 3-0. I didn't know what to expect... I didn't feel any different...Yet, to be honest, I was and still am completely overwhelmed by the birthday love that was shown to me. COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED! From my parents who sang to me at 12 midnight, to my pastor who texted me in the early morning even though it was Easter Sunday, my sister and her husband who made my day full of laughter and fun, Twitter, IG, and FB shoutouts, my family and friends who's individual greetings/texts and specific gifts (great photos, homemade cake, special books!, love!) were genuine and just full of joy, to my number one man who did a ton of things, but the Starbucks he reluctantly purchased me after church made my day! I'm overwhelmed again! Tears tears tears! I love everyone truly!! Cheers to joining the 30 club! here here! (Jay-z better be right.)

I loved this book! I didn't originally think I would enjoy it, considering the premise. However it really wasn't focused around sex, but moreover a complicated relationship between two people. As I read it, it seemed to me that Christia...